Over 4.1 million gather at Grand Mosque on 29th night of Ramadan    Myanmar earthquake death toll climbs to 144    Zelenskyy says new US draft minerals deal 'significantly differs,' rules out treating aid as a loan    Sudanese army says it has cleared final RSF positions in Khartoum    Trump renews push to acquire Greenland    Interior minister visits Grand Mosque operations center    Saudi Arabia prepares over 19,000 mosques and open-air prayer grounds for Eid Al-Fitr prayers    Reef Saudi bazaar celebrates rural heritage with traditional crafts and strong public turnout    World's largest barbershop opens at Clock Towers Center in Makkah to serve pilgrims    Saudi non-oil exports jump 10.7% in January    Saudi creatives shine at Jeddah's Fawanees Nights with art, fashion, and storytelling    OMODA&JAECOO Accelerate Global Expansion JAECOO J8 records strong first month orders in Saudi Arabia, J5 prepares for launch    LOT - The Value Shop makes its grand debut in Hafar Al-Batin    100 Thieves claim Marvel Rivals Invitational NA crown as 2025 scene heats up    T1 CEO confirms Gumayusi's return for LCK Spring after lineup shakeup    Bollywood actress vindicated over boyfriend's death after media hounding    Saudi Arabia hold Japan to goalless draw in Saitama to stay in World Cup hunt    Disney's Snow White film tops box office despite bad reviews    NewJeans announces hiatus after setback in court battle    George Foreman, heavyweight champion and cultural icon, dies at 76    Court rules against K-pop group NewJeans in record label dispute    Grand Mufti rules against posting prayers and preaching in mosques on social media    King Salman prays for peace and stability for Palestinians in Ramadan message King reaffirms Saudi Arabia's commitment to serving the Two Holy Mosques and pilgrims    Bollywood star Saif Ali Khan 'out of danger' after attack at home in Mumbai    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Hong Kong teen pro-democracy leader deported from Thailand
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 06 - 10 - 2016

Thailand stopped Hong Kong teen pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong from entering the country to give a talk and sent him home, raising questions about whether it acted at China's behest. An activist and a Thai immigration official said Bangkok responded to a request from Beijing, though a Thai government spokesman denied that.
Wong, a 19-year-old activist who rose to global prominence spearheading huge 2014 street protests against Beijing's plan to restrict elections, arrived late Tuesday at Bangkok's main airport. He said he was immediately taken into custody by 20 police and immigration officers and then put on a flight back to Hong Kong about 12 hours later.
He was due to give a talk at Chulalongkorn University about lessons from Hong Kong's "Umbrella Movement" protests as part of Oct. 6 commemorations of a Thai government crackdown on student demonstrators 40 years ago.
Netiwit Chotipatpaisal, a Thai activist who had planned to greet him at the airport, said police informed him that Wong was detained after Thailand received a notice from the Chinese government.
The deputy commander of Suvarnabhumi Airport's immigration office, Pruthipong Prayoonsiri, said at a news conference that Wong was blacklisted after China asked the Thai government to deny him entry, according to a report in The Nation newspaper. The report was confirmed by an officer at the airport department who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
Wong, who turns 20 next week, was one of the high-profile student leaders behind pro-democracy protests two years ago that marked the former British colony's most turbulent period since China took control in 1997. In August, a Hong Kong court sentenced him to community service for his role in the protests, which brought parts of the city to a standstill for months.
Wong told reporters that he was held in a windowless holding cell at the Bangkok airport. He said he was not given a clear explanation for his detention and was not allowed to contact his family or a lawyer.
"I actually had a lot of discussion with a Thai official, but because he didn't speak English very well, I couldn't hear him very well. But there was one word I heard very clearly: blacklist," he told reporters after arriving back in Hong Kong.
Wong, who last year was prevented from entering Malaysia, said he was relieved he did not end up like five Hong Kong booksellers who disappeared and later turned up in custody in mainland China. One of them, Chinese-born Gui Minhai, who is a naturalized Swedish citizen, vanished from his holiday home in Thailand.
"If I hadn't returned to Hong Kong, I can't imagine what kind of situation I'd be in," Wong said. "Fortunately, I did not become another missing person."
The bookseller case and other incidents have intensified fears in Hong Kong that Beijing is overstepping its boundaries and undermining a "one-country, two systems" formula that governs the territory's relationship with the mainland.
If it's true Beijing leaned on Thailand, "it will seriously damage the reputation of the Chinese government and it will show a very bad example of how the Chinese government deals with human rights defenders in Hong Kong," said Nathan Law, who co-founded the political party Demosisto with Wong earlier this year. Law, 23, was elected Hong Kong's youngest legislator last month. Their party wants a referendum on "self-determination" on the future status of Hong Kong, which is in the middle of a 50-year transition period to Chinese rule.
Amnesty International said the decision to block Wong, who inspired student activists in Thailand, "underscores the government's willingness to suppress the right to freedom of expression and raises serious concerns about how China is using its influence over Thai authorities."
China's Foreign Ministry said in a brief statement that it was aware of reports of Wong's detention, but did not say whether China had asked Thailand to detain him — only that it respected Thailand's ability to manage the entrance of people into the country "in accordance with law."
"Thailand's arrest of Joshua Wong, a well-known pro-democracy activist in Hong Kong, sadly suggests that Bangkok is willing to do Beijing's bidding. Wong should be freed immediately and allowed to travel and exercise his right to free expression," said Sophie Richardson, China director at Human Rights Watch.
Refusing entry to Wong would also be in line with recent moves by Thailand's military rulers, who seized power in a 2014 coup.
The government has shown zero tolerance for dissent and has cracked down hard on its own student activists who have protested the military rule. It has detained students and stopped speeches from taking place. Last month, Thai authorities threatened to arrest Amnesty International speakers who planned to hold a news conference to release a report detailing allegations of torture at the hands of the military and police, causing the rights group to cancel the event.
Wong was also turned back in May 2015 when trying to enter Malaysia to speak at seminars in four cities. Malaysian officials said Wong was banned from entering the country but did not explain why.


Clic here to read the story from its source.